Question

Many ionic compounds occur as hydrates, compounds that contain specific ratios of loosely bound water molecules, called waters of hydration. waters of hydration can often be removed simply by doing this?

Answer 1

heating

Hydrates Many ionic compounds occur as hydrates, compounds that contain specific ratios of loosely bound water molecules, called waters of hydration. Waters of hydration can often be removed simply by heating. For example, calcium dihydrogen phosphate can form a solid that contains one molecule of water per Ca H2PO4 2 unit and is used as a leavening agent in the food industry to cause baked goods to rise. The empirical formula for the solid is Ca H 2PO4 2H2O. In contrast, copper sulfate usually forms a blue solid that contains five waters of hydration per formula unit, with the empirical formula CuSO 45H2O. When heated, all five water molecules are lost, giving a white solid with the empirical formula CuSO 4  Figure 2.9 "Loss of Water from a Hydrate with Heating" .